Hello hello! I have something small and fun to show you today. First take a peek at these sweet necklaces - the pendants are made from sewing bobbins and vintage buttons.
If you want to make a bobbin bauble - an oldie but goodie, from way back in the history of this blog - here's the original tutorial.
To create a necklace, all I did was add two beads up the center of the bobbin, with loops on both ends. One loop got a tassel, the other got a beaded necklace. Done!
The thing I wanted to mention is the two colors of beaded necklaces. Both are mother-of-pearl...one is pure white, the other's a darker version. Both started out white - and I tea-dyed one to match the sepia-tone pendant.
Most crafters have heard of tea-dyeing fabric, but did you know you can tea-dye beads? So simple. Just soak them in a small amount of water, along with several used tea bags.
Works a treat!
The length of time you need to soak them will vary. With these ultra smooth and hard MOP beads, it took overnight. A more porous material (like bone beads) would be a much shorter soak. Just keep checking every hour or two until you reach the color you like.
I happen to have a long drawn out cold (going on three weeks now) and have been drinking lots of tea. Next time you or a loved one is sniffling sick, save the tea bags and try a little tea dying magic.
See you next time...and take care of yourself! (cough cough)
Hey, there's just time for a new Rad Repurposed Roundup. A quick mini-tour of some eco-friendly holiday ideas I have spotted lately.
From Betsy at My Salvaged Treasures, these amazing junky trees made from old lamp parts!
From Pillar Box Blue, some adorable mountain cushions made from old sweaters:
From my friend Sandra in Italy (tutorial in Spanish - so international!), another sweater upcycle, these especially sweet snowpeople:
From Carol at The Answer Is Chocolate, this smart idea to make gift tag sets as gifts. Great for giving to busy people who would not have time to make their own.
From Kim at Hunt And Host, these hand painted ornaments made from old silver spoons. A very cool way to upcycle vintage flatwear.
From Kathy at Petticoat JUNKtion, this awesome wall art: a 'sparkle and rust' tree from old hardware!
From Amy at Stow and Tell U, another unique wall tree that made me grin. So fun and so green...this rustic lighted tree is made from recycled tuna cans.
Aren't people brilliant? Thanks to all these incredible crafters for inspiring me.
Oh, and in case you missed it, here's one from me - a slightly demented ornament made from an upcycled squeeze-pouch lid:
And to display your special ornaments (demented or otherwise), here's my tute for a rustic little ornament stand you can make in 2 minutes, made from some discarded garden wire and a scrap of twine.
Hope you guys enjoyed the roundup - see you again soon, crafty people!
Here's a sweet and simple wire ornament stand that you can make in 2 little minutes. The best part: no tools needed!
Feature a favorite ornament on your mantel, or make a whole bunch of them as a different style of table centerpiece.
I used some garden wire that was in a big tangle, 'cause I was going for rustic. (But you can use any wire, 22 gauge or thicker.)
Ready? Let's make it!
Cut 1-2 feet of wire. (The length depends on how tall your ornament is.) Wrap one end around something round to make a circle.
Bend the wire sideways so it lies across the center of the circle.
At the halfway point, bend the wire straight up in the air.
About 1-2 inches from the wire end, make a downward bend like so:
Then at the very tip, make another upward bend for the hook.
If your ornament is flat, here's the look you're going for:
If the ornament is three dimensional, i.e. round or puffy, your stand should look more like this, with extra room for the ornament's girth:
Now add a little twine bow...
Done! Aren't they easy?!
Here's one with a bigger, swoopier bow, so cute...
Experiment with ribbon, yarn, or other fibers to make the look your own. Oh, and if you use new, un-kinked wire, your little stand will look less rustic, more sleek.
Stability tip: since most ornaments are light, you can get away with a 2-3 inch base circle. For heaftier ornaments, widen it to 4-5 inches, and/or use heavier wire.
Later, creators!
Okay, here's an organizing and storage idea that (I hope) will make you smile.
I rescued a huge bag of unwanted, old-fashioned plastic hair rollers, and have been working out ways to use them.
As one with naturally curly locks, I knew I'd have to repurpose the dickens out of them. After giving them a bleach-and-water bath, I started playing around with ideas. My previous post showed how I turned them into some offbeat jewelry:
As well as a sweet little Christmas ornament.
All very well, but I still had fifty rollers to use up. Here is the answer: these cylindrical darlings will organize your life! Simply stuff some rollers into various upcycled containers and WHEE! Storage for all kinds of things! Look inside this cut-down milk bottle:
Add paint brushes...
Voila!
Here's a nekkid peanut can:
I dressed it up with a necklace, but it would be a perfect blank slate for decoupage, paint, glitter or whatever. Stuffed it full of hair rollers. Now it's a cool and supremely functional art tool caddy.
Works equally well for makeup and bathroom-counter storage.
And here's my favorite use! Not exactly organization - more like home decor. Jam a bunch of rollers tightly into any kind of vase, like so:
Add water and foliage...it'll hold stems of all sizes and become a simply marvelous flower frog!
It's waterproof, easy to clean and fits into anything - you can turn any odd container into a working vase.
Ain't that fun?
I do so hope you enjoyed this one!
Hi! I wonder...how do you like the effect of these ruffles on my vintage thrift shop chandelier?
The 'Before' looked a little naked:
So, instead of buying mini-shades, I tried a very Mich upcycle:
Am I nuts - or is this actually really pretty? Doesn't it sort of go with that flared crystal centerpiece? I feel as if it enhances the vintage-ness of the chandy.
As you have guessed, 'tis another project in my ongoing quest to recycle the Sbux cups that accumulate in my life. This time, all I used was lids.
The DIY is very, very easy. Here goes.
Trim away a lid's outer edge and center, then flip inside out:
Nest four of them together.
Slip the nest down over the socket base.
Important reminder: the plastic is flammable, so make sure it does not touch anything hot! I don't recommend using incandescent bulbs. I used florescent candle bulbs, which have a cool-to-the-touch ceramic base.
Do this with all the sockets, and you are done! In my five-arm chandy, that's twenty cup lids transformed instead of tossed.
Cup lid ruffles - why not? They made me happy this week.
Thanks as always for coming to visit! I really appreciate you guys. I hope you take some creative time for yourself soon.
